


Always Knew the Melody (But Never Heard the Rhyme)

by owlways_and_forever



Series: The Mischief They Create [25]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 5 Times, 5+1 Things, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Marauders Fest 2020, Pregnancy, pregnancy reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:32:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28836369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlways_and_forever/pseuds/owlways_and_forever
Summary: 5 times Lily almost told James she was pregnant, and 1 time she actually did.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: The Mischief They Create [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888561
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21
Collections: Marauders Fest 2020





	Always Knew the Melody (But Never Heard the Rhyme)

**Author's Note:**

> Primarily written for Marauders Fest 2020.  
> See the end for prompts.

_They’ve still got their morning paper and their coffee and their time_ _  
_ _They still enjoy their evenings with their skeptics and their wine_  
_Oh but all the wonders I have seen I will see a second time_ _  
_ From inside of the ages through your eyes

Lily woke up with a start and vaulted out of bed, rushing to the bathroom. The early December air made the tile brutally cold as she knelt beside the toilet. A powerful wave of nausea gripped her and left her heaving.

“You okay?” James asked, appearing in the doorway of their bathroom, his glasses askew and his hair sticking up in every direction. 

“No,” Lily groaned, feeling too poorly even to manage a sarcastic reply.

“I’m sorry, Lils, it’s all my fault,” James bemoaned, squatting down next to her and rubbing her back. “I hate that I did this to you.”

Under normal circumstances, Lily might have agreed with James, even swore at him for getting her into this miserable predicament in the first place. But as it was, she was more concerned with trying not to puke her guts out.

“I should’ve slept on the couch or something last week, or stayed with Sirius,” James mused. “I wouldn’t have felt so bad giving him the flu.”

 _The flu?_ In something of a fog, Lily thought back to a few days ago, when James had been bedridden with a fever and a nasty bout of the flu, vomiting everything that he tried to eat or drink. It had been extremely unpleasant. Although Lily wasn’t entirely convinced that this wasn’t worse. _No, this is not the flu. I should tell him._

But when Lily opened her mouth, it wasn’t words that came out.

_Another time. I should probably wait until I’ve actually taken a test anyway._

o . o . o

Lily stood at the foot of the stairs, James facing away from her as he sat on the sofa. Insisting on buying a Muggle television was both the best and worst decision she had ever made. She had known that James would love it, and she did always love being right. But of course, now she had a much better understanding of Petunia’s groaning about not getting noticed if she were dancing around in lingerie when Vernon had the telly on. Lily made a mental note to give her sister the benefit of the doubt much more in future.

She adjusted her mulberry sweater and the gold locket around her neck, and took a deep breath. She held the test she had just taken in one hand and stepped closer to the sofa. James didn’t seem to hear her or have any inkling that she was standing there, but it was alright. Lily could already picture his head whipping around when she shared her news.

“James, I -” she started to say.

“OH COME ON YOU WANKER!” James interrupted, shouting at the football player who had just missed an obscenely easy shot, not showing any sign that he’d heard her speak.

_Right, not during football. Should’ve known._

o . o . o

Lily tied a red bow carefully around the center of the Muggle pregnancy test, placing it on the kitchen table. This would be perfect, a little early Christmas present. James would come home, go into the kitchen, and find the little surprise there waiting for him. The only thing she couldn’t decide was whether or not she wanted to be waiting in the kitchen to see his reaction, or if that would alert him too much that something was up. It could be just as fun to have him come bounding up the stairs filled with excitement. (She hoped he was excited. This wasn’t _exactly_ planned.)

At first she decided to wait upstairs. She paced in their bedroom, took a shower, and tried to do a bit of work on the article she was writing for the Prophet. But it was no use. All Lily could think about was James’ reaction. So about twenty minutes before James usually arrived home, Lily gave up and went downstairs. Maybe she would start making dinner while she waited. As soon as Lily reached the bottom of the stairs, it became evident that two things were conspicuously missing.

The first was their cat, Agatha, who was not asleep on the back of the couch as usual.

The second was the pregnancy test.

Swearing like a sailor, Lily sped toward the kitchen, hoping to find that the little test had simply been knocked to the floor, or maybe batted around a little bit before being given up. But she had no such luck. The test was gone and the cat was nowhere to be found. Savvy to Agatha’s habits, Lily made a beeline for the back door, peering through the little window. Sure enough, there was Agatha, perched on top of the little brick wall that marked the end of the yard, the pregnancy test between her teeth. Fuming, Lily yanked open the door and raced across the yard.

“Agatha! Stop that!” she yelled, snatching the test away. “I should give you away for this, you bloody inconvenient menace.”

Agatha meowed in protest and Lily softened a little.

“You know I wouldn’t actually give you away, silly girl,” she said, scratching the cat’s ears affectionately. “I guess I’ll just have to come up with something else now. Can’t very well hand James a test that’s been chewed to bits, now can I?”

o . o . o

Lily opened the door to let Sirius in, predictably the last to arrive for their little celebration. She always felt a little bad for Peter, his birthday right at the beginning of the year and often forgotten in the post-Christmas bliss. The Marauders (well, mostly Lily) had made a point of celebrating with him for the last few years, feeling as though it was quite important that he have a day of feeling treasured by his friends. Determined to ensure that today was Peter’s day, Lily had promised that she wouldn’t say anything about the baby to anyone. 

“Finally!” James greeted jovially as Sirius joined the rest of the bunch in the living room.

Sirius grinned and bounded over to his friends, giving them all a hug.

“Now that we’re all here, everyone want a beer?” James asked, looking around the room.

“Absolutely!” Peter, Remus and Sirius chorused.

“Lils?”

“I’m alright, thanks,” she answered, shrugging, trying to make it seem like it was no big deal.

“Oh come on, Evans!” Sirius protested. “Don’t be like that! Just have a drink with us!”

“Really, I’m fine,” Lily said weakly.

“Pleaseeee,” Sirius whined, giving her his poutiest face.

“No, I can’t!” Lily snapped, frustrated by his relentless pressure. “I… I have a headache, and beer will just turn it into a migraine.”

It was a pathetic excuse, but she was banking on the fact that none of the boys would think about it too hard. Except maybe Remus, who was giving her a curious expression. But Lily knew that he would never ask. Remus firmly believed that a person’s secrets were theirs to share when they felt ready and not before.

“I came all this way for this?” Sirius frowned, crossing his arms and flopping onto the sofa.

“Sirius, you live two blocks away,” Peter argued, starting to get annoyed that his special day was taking a turn for the worse.

“Yeah, but it’s gross outside, and I would not have braved the weather if I knew we weren’t going to be having a mad party!” Sirius said dramatically.

“Oh come on, it’s only cloudy out, there’s not even any rain,” James reasoned.

“Look, you guys can still party, and you know I don’t need to drink to be more fun than you lot anyway,” Lily said, hoping her challenge would lift Sirius’ spirits again.

“Well in that case…” Sirius snatched one of the beers that James had fetched while they were arguing, hoisting it up in the air. “Cheers to Peter’s birthday!”

Lily sighed in relief. It had been a bit of a close call, but that was alright.

o . o . o

James sat with the Muggle paper spread out in front of him (he rarely read the Prophet these days). The first Sunday paper of the new year. Lily watched him read, pretending to skim the Arts section while she waited for him to get to the right page. It was taking painfully long, but finally she saw the outline of the advert on the page from her excellent vantage point cuddled up next to him. She felt both anxious and excited for him to know. She had kept this secret for far too long.

James smirked when he saw the advert, which was not quite the response Lily was expecting. She tried to go with the flow though.

“What are you laughing at?” she asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“Just this advert, I mean look at it,” he answered, shifting the paper closer to Lily. “Some poor bugger is going to get one hell of a surprise this morning.”

His words were definitely a bit odd - clearly he wasn’t getting it. She looked at the paper and felt a mixture of disappointment and annoyance sweep over her. 

To Jamie P.:

I’ve got a surprise for you… You’re going to be a daddy!

Love you! *blows kisses*

Lila

 _How could they_ possibly _have mucked this up for her?_ She wanted to cry. It was cruel and unfair and… okay it was probably just an innocent mistake, but still. All she’d wanted was a nice little announcement to tell James. Was that too much to ask for? Evidently.

“I wonder what the circumstances are,” James continued, oblivious to Lily's anguish. “I mean, what if this is some one night stand or something? I bet there is an absolutely hilarious story behind this.”

‘’’Probably,” Lily said, turning away to hide the tears that were springing to her eyes.

“I’ve got to save this for Sirius, he’ll have a right laugh over it,” James chuckled.

Lily got up and excused herself. She didn’t feel much like laughing over it. Trying to buck herself up, she poured herself a glass of water and wiped her eyes on the kitchen towel. _On to plan C then._

o . o . o

James smirked as Lily pulled her sweater off, his hands instinctively reaching out to play across her bare skin. He loved the feel of her skin - so soft and smooth. He was absolutely convinced it was the absolute softest thing in the universe. But on this particular night, James wasn’t thinking about the softness of her skin, but rather the gentle slope of her belly.

“What are you grinning about?” Lily asked with a quirked eyebrow as she tugged on her favourite sleep shirt. 

“Nothing, just thinking that you’re quite cute,” James answered with a mischievous grin. “And I think all the holiday baking is catching up with us.”

“What?” Lily hissed, her brows furrowing as she stepped back from him.

“No, I like it!” he backtracked quickly. “You’re just as beautiful and to be honest, I’m glad that I’m not the only one who’s put on a bit of holiday weight.”

“Oh my god!” Lily shrieked, folding her arms across her waist. “It’s not holiday weight, you twat, I’m pregnant!”

“What?” James replied, feeling like his mind had just done a hard reboot.

“I’m pregnant, asshat,” she repeated, irritation and anger bringing a flush to her cheeks.

“Is this...is this real?” James said. He shuffled across the bed until he reached the end and was able to stand up, immediately wrapping his wife in a tight hug. “Lils, that’s incredible!”

“Yeah?” Lily asked, still a bit anxious.

“Yeah!” James answered enthusiastically, placing his hand on her belly. “Man, can you imagine how cool our kid is going to be!”

Lily smiled, and something over James’ shoulder caught her eye. 

“A shooting star - make a wish,” she murmured, brushing his hair back softly.

“I already have everything I want right here,” he answered, without so much as a glance at the window. “The only thing I could wish for is that nothing changes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Marauders Fest 2020 | B4: Lily tells James about her pregnancy  
> HSWW, Term 14, Assignment 1 | Gryffindor | Voodoo Magic, Task 4 | Write about a task that takes weeks to complete  
> Fantastic Beasts | 50. Deer Woman | Write about a pregnancy  
> Scavenger Hunt | 74. Write about your OTP having/adopting a child  
> 365 | 323. [plot point] a pregnancy  
> Resolution Evolution | Writing Resolutions | 23. Write a fic featuring a song or song lyric from your music playlist (state the song and artist) | The Mother by Brandi Carlile
> 
> Winter Seasonal Prompts  
> Days of the Year | March 9 - Panic Day | Write about an emotional dam finally breaking  
> Crochet Week | 5. Puff Stitch | [weather] cloudy  
> Penguin Awareness | 4. Adelie Penguins | [dialogue] “I came all this way for this?” // “Sirius, you live two blocks away.”  
> Colours | 7. Mulberry  
> Flowers | 10. English Primrose | [dialogue] “Is this… is this real?”  
> Tarot Reading | 4. Four of Wands | Write about someone with a stable relationship  
> Slytherin Challenge | G | [object] glasses
> 
> January Writing Club  
> Showtime | 3. The Negative | [object] a pregnancy test  
> Elizabeth’s Empire | 3. [style] 5+1  
> Scamander’s Case | 11. [creature] cat  
> Film Festival | 5. [emotion] happy  
> The Forecast Says | 9th: Rain | [action] hugging someone
> 
> Monthlies & Fortnightlies  
> New Year | 12. [dialogue] “Cheers to ____.”  
> Magical Menagerie | 1. Puffskein | [action] cuddling  
> Tea Room | 5. Summer Apricot Sponge | [emotion] offended  
> Founder Says | Helga Says: Something Fluffy | 5. “Make a wish.” / “I already have everything I want right here.”


End file.
